"mark Bannister" wrote in message
...
New pond had been up and running all Summer now, but the veggie filter is
growing rather poorly. (There are some pictures here after the first
planting: http://www.injection-moldings.com/EBPAGE/pond/.)

$$ It's hard to tell what kind of plants you have in that filter. The may
need Potash. The plants in our veggie filter are Arrowhead, parrots feather
and Pickerel weed. All get HUGE in the slow moving water.

The first planting was eaten by the fish.

$$ Fish don't belong in a veggie filter?!?!?!?!

Some minor changes and only
the smallest fish can get it now, but growth is not what I expected. The
pond gets 5-6 hours or full afternoon sun. Watercress and a few other
things grow OK, but the cattails and other reed type things all died.

$$ Could it be a lack of fertilizer? Some plants wont thrive in gravel.

I'm not getting the flourish of growth I had expected
I threw in some potash but no real appearance change.

$$ The amount generally used is 1 heaping Tbs. per 1000 gallons as needed -
perhaps about once a month. Again, if they're in gravel they may never do
well. It just doesn't hold enough nutrients for some plants.

Poor color along
with death seem to be the primary symptoms.
Water parameters are all in normal range, PH stable and in the 7.8 range.
All hardness levels are good as well.
On the plus side the filter is doing its job; the water is clear, but it
just looks like crap.
Any thoughts?

Mark B.
--
McKoi.... frugal ponding since 1995...
My Pond Page http://tinyurl.com/cuq5b
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